


Camping Can Be Hell

by CoolChrissy3838



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoolChrissy3838/pseuds/CoolChrissy3838
Summary: When Jughead and his Dad go on a father son camping trip, bonding activities and fun soon turn into chaos and insanity. The Jones men are going to need eachother to get through a crazy time.
Relationships: FP Jones II & Jughead Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	Camping Can Be Hell

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a prompt given to me by SouthSideSerpentPrincess22

One day in the summer before Jughead’s senior year he was sitting in the living room working on his latest story when the door opened and his dad walked in, smiling as he greeted his son, and thinking about how much his boy had grown up, and that certain circumstances had maybe forced Jug to grow up faster than necessary, and also that they both needed a break from everything. Taking a breath he spoke up.  
“Hey Jug,” At the greeting Jughead looked up from his laptop.  
“Hey Dad, What’s up?” When his boy asked him that FP smiled slightly before responding.  
“Not too much, I was just thinking maybe we should finally do the whole father/son camping trip thing, before you start school.” When his Dad said that Jughead couldn’t help but smile back.  
“Really?”  
“Yeah really, It’s long overdue for us and Freddie told me about a place where he and Red used to go camping, and it sounded like the perfect place.” Upon hearing this Jug could barely contain his excitement.  
“So, When do we leave?”  
“I figured on Saturday, and we could go for a week, that way we would have plenty of time to do whatever we wanted to do.”  
“Sounds good to me.”  
Two days later the Jones men were loading their camping gear into the back of FP’s cruiser, when they heard a voice calling out to them. When Jug turned from the truck he saw Archie and his Dad walking over carrying fishing poles.  
“Hey Arch, Mr. A, What’s up?” As Jug was greeting them FP walked over to join them.  
“Fred, Red.” At that Fred spoke up.  
“Hey, buddy, Jug. We weren’t sure if you had fishing poles or not, so we thought you could use these.” FP grinned at that.  
“Thanks buddy.” Twenty minutes later after they had finished loading up the truck, and saying their goodbyes the Jones men were on the road ready for an adventure. As they drove down the road Jug looked over at his Dad thinking that after everything that they had been through over the last three years they definitely deserved the time off.  
“So we’re really gonna do this?, Go camping in the middle of nowhere?” At the question FP briefly glanced over at his son.  
“Yeah, I guess we are. We both need a break from Riverdale, and everything that’s happening in our lives.”  
By nightfall the Jones men were pulling into the campgrounds as he parked the car FP looked over and saw that Jug was fast asleep against the door, as much as he didn’t want to disrupt his boy’s sleep he wasn’t sure he could carry him, so he reached over and touched Jug’s shoulder gently before speaking to him softly.  
“Hey, Juggie, You gotta wake up boy.” At the gentle touch Jughead blinked his eyes open, and turned to face his Dad.  
“Dad, Where are we?”  
“We’re at the campgrounds Bub, We should get set up, than you can go back to sleep.” As his Dad spoke Jug reached up to rub the sleep out of his eyes before he responded.  
“M’kay.” With that the father and son climbed out of the car and started to unload their gear. While Jug was getting their backpacks out of the trunk, FP grabbed the tent from the back, and just as he was making his way over to the circle of other tents, he was approached by another camper.  
“Hey there, Do you need any help getting set up?” At the question FP glanced briefly back towards the truck where he saw Jug struggling with both of their backpacks.  
“Am I that obvious?” When FP asked that question the guy smiled.  
“Not entirely, You just looked a little flustered, so I thought I’d see if you needed any help.” Before FP had a chance to respond Jughead walked up stumbling a bit under the weight of both of their backpacks. When he saw this FP reached out a hand to steady his son.  
“Y’know boy, You didn’t have to bring everything all at once.” At this comment Jug smiled at his Dad before setting the bags down and answering him.  
“I know, but I figured I might as well grab everything, to save us from having to go back to the car.”  
“Well why don’t you go get something to eat, while I get things set up.” When his Dad said this Jug smiled but he still paused before he walked over to where others were gathered around the campfire.  
“Are you sure?, Don’t you need my help setting up?”  
“Not as much as you need to eat something, I can hear your stomach growling from here, and I know your appetite. Just save me a hot dog, and I’ll be over once I get the tent set up.” At that Jughead smiled, before responding to his Dad, as he ran for the campfire.  
“Yea, definitely!” By the time FP joined his boy Jug was on his fourth hot dog, and he was getting ready to make s’mores. With a smile FP sat next to Jug and took the hot dog on a stick that his boy had been saving for him. Later that night after they had eaten their fill the Jones men were settled in their tent, as Jug snuggled down into his sleeping bag, trying to get warm. FP smiled before pulling his boy against his side.  
“Just use me as a pillow boy.” At those words Jughead smiled up at his Dad before leaning into the warmth that was his Dad, and drifting off to sleep.  
In the morning Jughead woke up to his stomach grumbling, as he pushed himself into a sitting position, he realized that he was alone in the tent. With a sigh he reached out to grab his flannel and some pants, figuring that his Dad had gone in search of breakfast. After pulling his clothes on he climbed out of the tent, when he got outside he saw his Dad standing near where the fire had been the previous night, holding two styrofoam cups. With a yawn Jug walked towards his Dad desperately hoping that he could find coffee and food before his stomach ate itself. Just as he was about to reach his Dad FP turned to greet him, holding out one of the cups.  
“Morning boy, I got you coffee and breakfast is in the car.” With a grateful smile Jug took the coffee from his Dad, before the man moved towards the car to retrieve their breakfast.  
“Thanks Dad.” A few minutes later FP walked back over to where his boy was standing, staring off into space, clearly still not fully awake.  
“Here Jug, I got us donuts.” That said he handed Jug the bag, watching with an amused smile as Jug pulled two of the four donuts from the bag, stuffing one into his mouth before he even spoke.  
“Y’know, you don’t need to inhale the thing to enjoy it right?” At the question Jug snorted out a laugh, spitting out donut crumbs as he did.  
“I know, but I figured the sooner I finished breakfast, the sooner we could get to whatever it is that we’re gonna do this morning.”  
An hour later after they had both finished eating the Jones men had gathered their fishing poles and they had made their way down to the river to try their luck at fishing. Weather it was beginners luck, or just FP being a good teacher they each already had one fish, and Jug had just cast his line again when it got caught got on a tree branch. With a sigh Jug made his way out to the middle of the river to untangle his line, just as he was reaching down to untangle his line he must have slipped on the riverbed because the next thing he knew he was landing on his butt in the river. Trying to hold back a laugh FP made his way out to help Jug stand up. When his Dad reached him Jug saw the laughter in his eyes.  
“You think this is hilarious don’t you?”  
“It’s a little funny.” At the comment Jug waited until FP reached a hand down to pull him to his feet, before grabbing his wrist and pulling him down into the river as well.  
“Yeah?, How about now?” Smiling and laughing the Jones men pulled themselves to their feet, deciding that what they had already caught was enough for the day and that they needed to go change into dry clothes. As they made their way back to the campsite FP spoke up.  
“So maybe, we try that again tomorrow, except this time maybe without going for a swim?” Jug smiled at that, as he shook water out of his eyes.  
“Sure why not.”  
After another peaceful day of fishing Jug and FP decided to try out the hiking trails, they had made it to one of the higher trails, and Jug had stepped slightly off of the trail to take some pictures, just as he was raising his camera to take another picture, a sudden crash of thunder caused him to jump, and the next thing he knew the sky had opened up like a flood gate, pouring rain down on top of him. Moving carefully Jug headed back towards where he’d left his Dad, except that when he stepped back out onto the path his Dad was nowhere in sight.  
“Dad?, Dad?, Where are you?” Unfortunately the only things that Jug could hear were the crashing thunder, and the pounding rain. Taking a shaky breath he moved down the path, hoping at the very least that he could find his way back to the campsite, figuring that, that’s where he would find his Dad. After several hours of wandering Jug realized that rather than getting closer to the wide open space that was the campsite, he was actually going deeper into the woods. In the moment he decided rather than wandering deeper into nothingness, maybe he should try his phone, but of course because of Jones luck, not only did he barely have any battery left, there was also no signal. Holding his phone up, Jug kept walking, hoping to find a signal. One minute he was standing on the edge of a cliff trying to get a signal, and the next thing he knew the ground was giving out from under him, and he was falling. When he landed he was lying on a narrow ledge several feet below where he started with a pounding headache, and an agonizing pain shooting through his leg. He winced in pain as he inched his way closer to the ledge to get an idea of just how deep in it he was, when he looked down he couldn’t even see the ground, giving himself instant vertigo. Taking a deep breath he tried to stand up, but his leg gave out from under him almost instantly, causing him to cry out in pain.  
Meanwhile back at the campsite FP was talking to the other campers, and a couple of park rangers, trying to convince them to put together a search party and to go back out into the woods to find Jug.  
“We need to get out there and find him!, I’m not leaving my son lost, and alone in the woods, in the middle of a fucking thunderstorm!, He could be hurt!, He’s only got a light jacket, he could freeze if we don’t find him!” At the outburst one of the rangers spoke up.  
“I understand your concern Sheriff, but it’s pitch dark, and pouring right now, it would be irresponsible to go back out there right now, but we can go back out first thing, when hopefully the weather will have improved somewhat.” When he heard this FP nearly blew his top.  
“Irresponsible?, Y’know what’s irresponsible?, Leaving my boy out there alone, and possibly hurt, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a storm!, If you won’t help than I’ll find him myself!”  
“Sheriff, We want to help you but even if we went out there right now, we have no idea where to start looking, and with the weather the way it is, any trail that your son may have left would’ve been wiped out.”  
“So, You’re saying don’t bother looking, because the odds are against me finding him?”  
“No, I’m saying that the search party will be more effective in the light of day, when we can actually see where we’re going, and we’d be able to call in the choppers as well. For right now let’s hope your boy was able to find shelter.” FP frowned at the rangers use of the endearment he used for his son, but as worried as he was about Jug, he also knew how smart his boy was, and that they would have a better chance of finding Jughead in the light of day.  
Meanwhile Jughead was sitting on the ledge curled up as much as he could given his leg, trying to keep warm, his jacket was already soaked through, and he’d ended up using his flannel and a couple of tree branches to make an improvised brace for his clearly broken leg. At the moment he wasn’t sure he could move even if he wanted to.  
“Shit!, This really hurts!, As he held his injured leg he thought about his Dad, and how worried, he probably was, but he also knew that while it might take some time, his Dad would find him. Shivering from the cold and pain, Jug decided to lie down, or at least to stretch out as much as he could given his current predicament, as he did this he reached into his jacket pocket hoping to find some kind of snack in there because he was starving, and sending up a thankful praise when he found an unopened bag of peanut M&M’s, he was also thirsty enough at this point that he was thinking seriously about finding some way to drink the rain water. Eventually he fell into a fitful sleep.  
In the pre-dawn hours FP woke up alone in his tent with a moan, he hadn’t wanted to sleep without knowing where his son was but he had known that he wouldn’t do Jug any good if he was exhausted. When he climbed out of the tent he saw one of the rangers talking on his phone, the conversation became clearer as he approached.  
“Where was that?, Roger that, we’ll head that way and check it out.”  
“Check what out?” At the question the ranger spoke briefly into his phone, hanging it up as he turned to face FP.  
“Sheriff, I had the choppers head out as soon as I woke up, and I just got a report of a rockslide on the North peak, they said that when they flew closer, they thought that they saw someone lying on a ledge partway down the mountain.” At those words FP froze.  
“Jughead!, Is he okay?”  
“They couldn’t get close enough in the chopper but I think we should head up there and check it out.”  
“Let’s do it!”  
Meanwhile as his Dad and the rangers were heading up the mountain Jughead woke up, as his body was wracked with a series of painful coughs, that sent shivers through his body. Suddenly he jerked to attention when he heard his name over a megaphone.  
“Jughead Jones, remain where you are!, Help is on the way.” At the shout Jughead turned his head slightly to see the blurry shape of a helicopter hovering a few feet in front of him, and he found himself wondering if he was hallucinating. Before he could think to react a rope was dropping down the cliff face at his feet, and the next thing he knew his Dad was kneeling at his side.  
“Jug!, Juggie!, Oh thank God!” At the sound of his Dad’s voice Jughead tried to sit up, as he reached for his Dad, but that only caused his head to spin even more, until he felt a comforting hand resting on his shoulder.  
“Just lie still Bub, We’re gonna get you out of here. Tell me where it hurts.” At the question Jug let out a pained whimper.  
“Dad?, Daddy?, It hurts, my leg, my head, and my side, and I’m cold.” At those words FP looked down at his boy’s leg, and his heart jumped up into his throat at the sight of the improvised brace.  
“Jug!, Bub, What happened?” If the sight of his boy’s leg hadn’t caused his heart to jump, than the answer he received would have.  
“I think I fell off of a mountain.”  
“Jug.”  
“Dad, Camping kinda sucks, Can we go home now?” At that statement FP laughed dryly as he ran a hand through Jug’s rain, and sweat soaked hair, before picking up the sopping wet beanie that was lying on the ground next to Jug’s head.  
“Yea Bub, I think you’re right, Camping isn’t for us, and yes we can go home, though we should probably take you to the hospital first, and get you checked out.” At those reassuring words Jug drifted off, and everything after that, including the trip to the hospital, than back home was a blur. He dimly remembered being given pain killers, and crutches, and being told to stay off of his leg as much as possible, but it was mostly one big blur.  
The next night the Jones men were back home and FP was in the kitchen getting a glass of water, when terrified screams rang through the house, causing him to jump, and drop the glass he’d been holding, sending it shattering to the kitchen floor and splashing his pajama pants with water, as he ran for the stairs, only pausing briefly when he saw Betty sitting up on the couch, sending him a worried look.  
“I got it, he’ll be okay, you can go back to sleep.” Without further comment FP raced up the stairs and into his son’s room, only to see Jug sitting up in bed, shivering and clutching the blankets to his chest.  
“Jug?” At the sound of his name Jughead looked at him, with wide haunted eyes as he crossed the room.  
“Dad-I-I,” At the broken speech FP moved to sit next to his baby boy, pulling him into a hug, holding him close to his side. Before either of the Jones men could say anything else another voice broke in.  
“Daddy?, Is Jug okay?” When he heard his daughter speak FP looked up and saw Jellybean standing in the doorway.  
“Jellybelly, I don’t know, but you should go back to bed, I’m gonna stay with him.” Once Jellybean had gone back to her room FP turned back to his son, who was staring at him wide-eyed and pale.  
“Talk to me Juggie, What’s wrong?” Jug took a shaky breath before speaking up, leaning against his Dad’s chest, seeking, warmth, safety, and comfort as he did.  
“I-I was back on the mountain, only I was pinned down by rocks, and nobody came, I was just alone, I felt myself dying, I was so scared.” At those words FP pulled Jug close, and kissed his temple softly before he spoke up.  
“Oh Juggie, I’m sorry boy, but you know that I’ll always come for you, even if I have to scale a mountain, and fight off a grizzly bear with my bare hands, or Hiram Lodge, or an army of drugged up Ghoulies, I will always come for you, and I will always keep you safe. I love you boy.” At those words Jughead smiled as he looked up at his Dad through his bangs.  
“I know you do, and that you would, though I think a grizzly might actually be scarier than Hiram, at least according to Arch anyway.”  
“None of that matters, as much as keeping you safe Bub. I love you so much, when you were born it was like the whole world was brighter, because you were a part of it. You’re all the best parts of me, and so much more. I’m so proud of you.” At those words Jug was momentarily shocked speechless, because he had always known that his Dad loved him, but he hadn’t realized just how much. Before FP knew what was happening Jug was leaning against him and hugging him tightly.  
“I love you too Dad, so much. Will you stay with me tonight?”  
“That’s the plan, I’m gonna stay right here for as long as you need me.”  
“I’ll always need you.”  
“Than I’ll always be here.” After those words of reassurance the Jones men drifted off to sleep, and though the nightmares lingered for awhile, eventually they faded as all things do, but the Jones men never went camping again.  
Fin-


End file.
